DESTINATION DIVAS Why Alex Shaffer is So Going to Be Your New Favorite Alex!

Yes, we know, you love blond English teen movie hunk Alex Pettyfer. But the DivaGals have discovered another teen breakout star who 1. Also has the name Alex and 2. Is blond (some of the time!).

Meet Alex Shaffer, the real-life high school wrestling champ who stars in the new comical drama Win Win. Alex stars as Kyle, a troubled teen with killer moves on the wrestling mat. After running away from home, he winds up on the doorstep of Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), a local lawyer and high school wrestling coach who’s got secret ties of his own to Kyle’s family, and takes him under his wing.

So what should you know about this 17-year-old film newbie to start the lovefest? Here are four fun facts to make you want to see a lot more of Alex S!

He’s Not Really Blond. Alex, who wrestled for Hunterdon Central High School in New Jersey, had bleached his hair blond (along with the rest of the team) to take on their biggest rivals. Director Tom McCarthy liked it so much, he decided to keep it for the movie. But Alex, who has gone back to his natural brown locks, declares that when it comes to blonds having more fun he “wouldn’t necessarily say so.”

He Loves To Get His Groove On. Sure, Alex can bust a move on the wrestling mat, but get this; he can also break it down on the dance floor. “I love dancing,” he shared with us, adding that he likes to shake his thing to “Indie Folk.” All you Florence and The Machine fans can start squealing now.

He Actually Wanted to Be A Kung-Fu Star. At the age of three, Alex wanted to do karate. “When I turned five, my dad took me to a Judo place.” Alex loved it, and then learned that “Judo and wrestling are similar sports. I got the forms for wrestling and came home and showed them to my dad.” You know the rest of the story; however..,

He’s Not Wrestling Anymore. “I broke the L5 vertebrae in my back,” Alex admitted to us during our chat inside the Trump Hotel in New York City’s SOHO district. “After the movie, I went back to wrestling and it was fine, but by the time summer rolled around, it started to break down there. So I’m done with wrestling for the time being. ” It’s okay, since Alex “really loves acting now.” He’s hoping to continue his career and keep focusing on the dramas.